The Clog from OzEinstein and Uni Subjects
August 1st 2006 06:37
"One had to cram all this stuff into one's mind for the examinations, whether one liked it or not. This coercion had such a deterring effect on me that, after I had passed the final examination, I found the consideration of any scientific problems distasteful to me for an entire year." – Albert Einstein
I actually disagree with Einstein here (is that legal?) because although we “cram all this stuff” into our minds whether we like it or not, there is always a reason we are doing so. For example, I can’t stand plant biology (who really cares? Plants are boring!) but had to study it for my degree in human physiology, to compare plants to humans in different ways.
But statistics, ohhh statistics. Does anybody actually like this subject? Anyone at Usyd studying any sort of science related degree needs to know basic stats for some reason. But why? Do those surgeons out there need to know that a correct incision could actually be 0.01% due to chance? Or do the astrologists require some skill in looking up z tables? Pfft! I doubt it.
I reckon Einstein’s quote holds for this ridiculously agonising subject. We should only have to study it if we are sad enough to be working towards a future in stats or maths.
Image part of the Public Domain
I actually disagree with Einstein here (is that legal?) because although we “cram all this stuff” into our minds whether we like it or not, there is always a reason we are doing so. For example, I can’t stand plant biology (who really cares? Plants are boring!) but had to study it for my degree in human physiology, to compare plants to humans in different ways.
But statistics, ohhh statistics. Does anybody actually like this subject? Anyone at Usyd studying any sort of science related degree needs to know basic stats for some reason. But why? Do those surgeons out there need to know that a correct incision could actually be 0.01% due to chance? Or do the astrologists require some skill in looking up z tables? Pfft! I doubt it.
I reckon Einstein’s quote holds for this ridiculously agonising subject. We should only have to study it if we are sad enough to be working towards a future in stats or maths.
Image part of the Public Domain
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